


Nerd

by mooglecharm (morphaileffect)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Clueless Ignis Scientia, Drama, Except nobody knows about it yet, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Humor, M/M, MT Prompto Argentum, One Shot, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Short, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26235805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morphaileffect/pseuds/mooglecharm
Summary: Prompto is really good at science and tech. It bothers him in a way he can't fully explain.Ignis is there to listen, all the same.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 9
Kudos: 117





	Nerd

**Author's Note:**

> Gotta be a reason why I keep putting on fluffy old ballads (“Sweet Baby,” “Sharing the Night Together”, “Foolish Heart”) while writing for this pair.
> 
> *clears throat* Set sometime before chapter 8.

It was one of those rare mornings when Ignis was the second person to wake. And it was a bit disorienting - Ignis felt vaguely like a mother hen who'd lost one of her chicks.

He soon realized that the feeling came from one warm body being missing from the tent. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and made his way out of the tent, into the sunrise.

6:00 AM. It was Ignis’ usual waking-up time. It was definitely not Prompto’s, however.

And Prompto was already in the campgrounds, using first light to illuminate his delicate work. Ignis’ missing chick was found. He was slumped on the ground, hunched over a metal box, which seemed to be full of plastic and metal odds and ends.

A closer look informed Ignis that Prompto had taken his camera apart.

 _Completely_ apart.

Ignis had not even known that such a small, portable thing could have so many removable bits.

And Prompto was carefully cleaning each bit as he was putting it back in its proper place in the device, with the precision of a master clocksmith.

Interesting.

“You’re rather good at that,” Ignis observed aloud.,

Prompto nearly jumped out of his skin. His hand reached out for a weapon he was somehow able to keep himself from summoning.

Seeing that it was only Ignis, he relaxed, clutched his chest.

“Iggy,” he breathed. “Gods, don’t scare me! I was really focused here!”

“Apologies.” Ignis hunched down beside Prompto. “I was just noticing. That seems like a detailed undertaking.”

“Uh,” Prompto froze, for a moment looking like he considered hiding the camera behind his back as he faced Ignis. “Y-yeah, it’s a lot of work, kinda. Was why I had to start at first light.”

“Do you need help?”

“Nah, I’m, I’m good.” He fidgeted with the device in his hands. “Doesn’t take much skill, you know? Once you’ve had a gadget for years, you know its ins and outs.”

An awkward silence settled after this, as if Prompto was hoping Ignis would drop the subject.

But he had no such luck.

“I suppose,” Ignis said slowly. “But you haven’t exactly had that camera for years, have you? I distinctly remember you said your parents bought it specifically for this journey. For ‘taking great wedding photos,’ if I recall correctly...”

“Well, you know,” was Prompto’s excitable counter, “this thing’s been through hell and high water with us. Literally! So I’ve had to clean it like this a lot. Got plenty of chances to familiarize myself with the mechanism.”

Prompto was defensive. Ignis was curious.

“Really, Prompto, I don’t see the need for modesty. You’re good with machines. Isn’t that something to be proud of?”

A sudden melancholy overcame Prompto. It did not escape Ignis, but it did puzzle him.

“I guess,” Promptly answered in the softest voice, “but not when you’re me.”

Ignis barely heard that last part. He thought it might be best to pretend he didn’t. He adjusted his glasses and began to get to his feet. If he wasn’t going to be of any help to Prompto, he needed to start on breakfast.

“Uh...” Prompto said, stopping Ignis in his tracks. “Would it be cool if, um, we kept it between us?”

Ignis blinked down at him. “Kept what between us?”

“This.” Prompto raised the cannibalized camera to his eye level. “Noct already calls me a nerd, and...”

“You know he only calls you that with affection,” Ignis gently pointed out.

“Yeah...but...maybe not so much once he finds out exactly _how much_ of a nerd I am, you know?”

 _Why is this a concern,_ Ignis wondered. _Prompto seems genuinely upset._ “How much of a nerd _are_ you?”

For a fraction of a second, Prompto looked scared. As if out of sheer panic, he was going to bust out a joke that would change the topic.

But he managed to conquer his fear. It just unsettled Ignis to see him like that - tongue-tied and all but vibrating with nervousness.

It was unusual for him.

“You see, the thing is, I like tech?” he began to say, in a speed that came close to babbling. “I _really, really_ like tech. I can get really into something and not stop until I’ve mastered it - like projectile weapons. Video games. Or photography. But it’s not enough that I like playing around...I also have to know how stuff works. I have to take things apart and put them back together. With my own hands. And memorize how things fit together, where power comes from and how it flows through.”

As Prompto spoke, he gesticulated freely. He had put down the camera, and had begun to move his hands in the air in a lively, almost theatrical manner.

And when he caught himself doing it, he clasped his hands together, brought them down to the ground between his knees.

Prompto was always animated. But Ignis noted that he forced himself to be still while talking about this specific thing.

“You know...I’ve had this smartphone for ages. When people point out it’s a really old model, I just say they don’t make things like they used to. But I’ve actually been upgrading it myself, using parts salvaged from junk. Everything about it is new, or new- _ish_ , except for the casing. So my folks think it’s still the one they gave me when I was ten. And if this phone broke now...I can probably rebuild it. From scratch.

“And sometimes I think about people. What makes them tick. If they’re like machines if you open them up, if you can take them apart and still get them to work, and make them do what you want...”

Ignis frowned at the strange turn the rambling took. It didn’t sound evil, not in the least - just strange, coming from his younger, normally more cheerful friend.

Prompto must have noticed that frown, because he stopped talking abruptly.

His eyes were wet. He seemed reluctant to continue. And at the same time, eager to finally speak.

“Iggy,” he continued in a much quieter tone, “I don’t know why, but...being good at tech and science-y stuff...scares me. It feels like I’m connecting with a part of me that...isn’t me. It’s something that takes hold of me from inside. Something that doesn’t belong to what I _am_ right now.”

He placed a hand on his chest.

“Like there’s a ghost. In this shell. You know?”

It was half a joke. The tone of his voice said as much.

It said _Please, don’t ask me questions. I won't be able to answer them._

“Well, then,” Ignis carefully replied, “if there’s indeed a ghost...I’ll have to say it’s a very talented one. One that’s certainly useful, especially in aiding royalty.”

Prompto looked up at him with moist, attentive blue eyes that hid nothing of the relief he felt.

“And, to be frank, it’s rather attractive.”

Suddenly, those eyes went wide as plates.

“You should be more open about it,” Ignis continued cluelessly. “You may be surprised, but there are those who find ‘nerdiness,’ as some would call it, quite fetching. For example, a certain young, inventive mechanic back in Leide?”

“Oh. Em. Gee...”

Prompto was at a loss for words for a good second. At the end of that second, he put both hands over his lips, as an exaggerated gesture of shock.

When he took those hands from his lips, he whispered, disbelievingly: “You think I’m hot.”

This drew out a chuckle from Ignis. It was so unexpected, Ignis could hardly be faulted for being unable to stop himself in time.

“You can tell yourself whatever you like,” Ignis light-heartedly replied. “As long as it gets you believing that being a ‘nerd’ is not such a bad thing.”

There would be time later to talk about the ‘ghost’ in Prompto’s shell, the one that troubled him so. But Prompto had already signaled that he was ready to end the conversation, and Ignis just worked on his cue.

Prompto was obviously grateful that Ignis was willing to let the matter drop. More than that, a blush began spreading across his face. It was most prominent on the freckles on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

“Iggy thinks I’m hot,” he said to no one in particular, punching the air above him. “Because I’m a nerd! Take that, deep-set insecurities!!”

Ignis smiled. Yes, their bubbly companion seemed entirely too sheltered and soft and _strange_ for the long road ahead...

But he could be cute if he wanted to be. And in the midst of so much danger and darkness, there were definitely times when cute was welcome.

Ignis leaned down and patted Prompto’s shoulder, let his hand linger there.

“I won’t tell anyone, if you insist,” he said reassuringly. “But I urge you to consider reducing the number of things you feel you must hide from us. We won’t judge you, Prompto.”

Prompto looked up to meet Ignis’ gaze, then looked away quickly.

The blush on his face seemed to grow even redder.

“Yeah, I,” he stammered, “I know. I guess. Thanks, Ignis.”

With a final pat on the shoulder, Ignis instructed Prompto to finish up, so he could hopefully help with preparing breakfast. Gladio was probably going to wake up soon, and he would surely wake up hungry.

Prompto promised to put his camera back together as quickly as possible. After what had just gone down between them, no way he was leaving Iggy alone to battle the big guy’s empty stomach that morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Works off a headcanon that Prompto inherited [Verstael](https://mooglecharm.tumblr.com/post/626905958690521088/i-keep-getting-blindsided-by-how-hot-i-find-young)'s passion for science, but he suppresses it because he can't rationally associate it with his Lucian upbringing and overall personality. He calls it simply "nerdiness", until his origins are revealed to him, and it's proven to be more than that.


End file.
